Past screening

Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer

Directed by: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin
Runtime: 1hr 26min Year: 2013
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Directed by: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin
Runtime: 1hr 26min Year: 2013
Country: Russian Federation, United Kingdom
Last Screened: Thu 27th Jun 2013

Chronicling the imprisonment of Russian feminist activists, Pussy Riot, and the way one small act of protest captured a nation's attention growing to become an international story of human-rights abuse.

On February 21st, 2012, following the controversial re-election of Vladimir Putin, Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot committed a very public act of defiance on the altar of Moscow’s most venerated cathedral. Their 40 second ‘punk prayer’, performed in their now iconic multi-coloured balaclavas, openly challenged Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, and set in motion one of the greatest ‘show trials’ of recent times.

Pussy Riot were immediately arrested on charges of religious hatred and when three members of the group were sentenced to three years in a penal colony the severity of the punishment galvanised international support and protests across the world.

With unparalleled access, Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer puts a personal face on an act of rebellion, going beyond the media furore and following three women prepared to defend their actions whatever it may cost them.